Subtle military design cues work well. Trust Japanese brand Digawel to do it right.
I find I’m always shoving my keys and store receipts in my MA-1’s pocket sleeve. I don’t know how well a heavy set of keys would work in this pocket on a thin cotton shirt, but I could definitely puff it up real nice with a week’s worth of Starbucks and Costco receipts. Flex smarter, not harder is what I always say.
$275 over at Maas And Stacks.
Engineered Garments is definitely one of my favorite American brands, but their commitment to not giving a shit about whether or not you can find their clothes anywhere for purchase is kind of frustrating. Take their website for example… at the time of writing this all you get is that single page, and on every refresh you get a new ambiguous artsy picture. Googling the words “Engineered Garments” uncovers some hidden lookbooks, which they were too lazy to link to of the main page I guess. They make some quality items, if you can find them.
This particular jacket is available over at Steven Alan for $408.
Available for $620 over at Mr. Porter. Waxed cotton only looks better with age… this jacket is sweet. Good to see an A-2 when so many companies seem to be sticking with the MA-1.
At the beginning of the war, Army Air Corps members were issued the most badass jacket in the military, the leather A-2—which had been the standard leather flight jacket since 1931. In WWII, these jackets became a canvas for teenage flyers to express their rugged individuality. They’d get the backs painted, and often these images included the plane’s nickname and little bombs to tally how many missions the crew flew. On the front, personalized patches would often indicate one’s squadron or bomb group.
Very interesting stuff… make sure you read the whole history and check out more pictures over at Collectors Weekly.
They recommend these two books; American Flight Jackets, and Art of the Flight Jacket if you really want to go way down the flight jacket rabbit hole.
Although more than one jacket may have been painted with the same or similar designs, the nature of leather, how it wears, and the subtle differences in hand painting make each one unique.
The jacket is made out of heavyweight fleece and comes with a removable quilted nylon insulator vest. I’m not sure how warm that combination makes the jacket, but my guess is that it’s best suited for when the temperature is hovering above freezing.
For $360 over at HAVEN, this seems like a great value for the money. It’s also available in black, but in my opinion that colorway doesn’t look as good on this design.
Nothing really exceptional here, but the camouflage in the hood and leather detail on the chest is a nice touch.
Available for ￥41,790 ($515 USD) over at Stussy.
You might remember that Stussy and shot also recently worked on a Waxed M65 jacket and a U.S. Navy Pea Coat together.
